| "If people never did silly things nothing intelligent | | | | and confront any insecurities and challenges, head |
| would ever get done". | | | | on!" TUS7M Participant |
| - Ludwig Wittgenstein | | | | 4. Same Constraints, Diverse Presentations, |
| A nuclear engineer teaches sewing a button, a | | | | Authentic Voice in Business |
| senior product marketing manager shows how to | | | | Start with giving out the same guidelines then |
| bake ginger cookies and a manager of a national | | | | encourage customization of the presentations |
| flooring company provides a lesson on magic and | | | | based on individual strengths. Presentations that |
| integrity. What's up? | | | | run in different directions will showcase the |
| Each participated in Rapid Knowledge Transfer: | | | | variety, diversity and individuality within a team. |
| Teach Us Something in 7 Minutes,a dynamic team | | | | When authentic personal style shines through a |
| program I designed based in the delivery of quick | | | | presentation it is easy for the audience to engage. |
| interactive presentations. For over a decade I | | | | "The TUS7M project was fun and educational. |
| have led teams in this method with presenters | | | | Being limited in time, it really forced us to |
| working individually or in pairs. Without further ado | | | | communicate clearly and succinctly. This is the |
| I would like to share four of seven benefits | | | | project that made our MBA cohort a team. It |
| gleaned from shorter rather than longer | | | | was amazing to see how much our projects |
| presentations. | | | | varied considering we all were given the same, |
| 1. Fast Reduces Fear | | | | simple instructions. I would love to do it again!" |
| Public speaking is our number one fear. A short | | | | TUS7M Participant |
| presentation with hard start and stop times | | | | "The number one thing I learned regarding design |
| counteracts the free fall of performance anxiety | | | | and delivery [of a short presentation] was to be |
| and serves as a sanctuary for the nervous mind. | | | | true to my personality and that of the person I |
| If the design and delivery of even a brief | | | | was working with. It made the entire project fun |
| presentation gets to be too much you fall back | | | | and exciting. We became so passionate and |
| on the thought "Oh well, this'll be over fast!" | | | | confident throughout the project; it was one of |
| "The 7 minute constraint demanded a surprising | | | | the best, most memorable and well received |
| degree of efficiency and made me reconsider | | | | presentations I have ever been a part of." TUS7M |
| how I present my thoughts on a daily basis." | | | | Participant |
| TUS7M participant | | | | 5. Brief Presentations Boost Confidence |
| 2. Rapid Rapport | | | | A good measure of quality teamwork is how |
| While effective presentation planning is a given, | | | | individual learning accelerates whenpeople are on |
| communication takes off when it is immediate, | | | | the same page and participating in an identical |
| responsive and improvisational. You are the | | | | process of constraints. Confidence increases with |
| message; connect!!! Even a brief presentation | | | | repeated action; in rehearsing everyone |
| should serve the purpose of connecting with your | | | | self-corrects and this shared experience |
| audience. | | | | establishes trust. |
| Creating meaning is central, even in a couple of | | | | "The number one thing I learned regarding design |
| minutes. Design the presentation with a bias | | | | and delivery [of a short presentation] was to be |
| towards offering an experience for the user | | | | true to my personality and that of the person I |
| listener/audience rather than using it as a forum | | | | was working with. It made the entire project fun |
| to display the presenters' knowledge about the | | | | and exciting. We became so passionate and |
| subject. | | | | confident throughout the project; it was one of |
| "Sitting out in the darkened audience on a | | | | the best, most memorable and well received |
| Saturday night for the Teach Us Something in 7 | | | | presentations I have ever been a part of." TUS7M |
| Minutes program I expected to be mildly | | | | Participant |
| entertained and learn a bit. Instead come 9:30 pm | | | | 6. Humble Time Frames Require Smart |
| and the program's close, I was energized and | | | | Preparation |
| ready to sing "Head, Shoulders, | | | | Rehearse, do run-throughs, give and get feedback |
| Knees and Toes" in French, sew buttons, dance | | | | before presenting. |
| salsa and banish my fear of public speaking. The | | | | Living in New York and California respectively one |
| dynamic presenters had me wanting to learn | | | | RKT pair relied on virtual communication. Their |
| much more period." | | | | first concept was to teach how to make and |
| TUS7M Audience Member | | | | bake a bread replica of the Guggenheim Museum |
| "I learned to be open to taking risks and | | | | to actual scale in 7 minutes!!! A test run in their |
| attempting something uncomfortable. I tend to | | | | respective kitchens across the country quickly |
| try to control all aspects of a presentation, to plan | | | | cured them of the feasibility of this idea. |
| carefully for the best results, but sometimes the | | | | "Looking back, our mutual desire to please the |
| best results come from a little bit of improvisation | | | | other person and keep conflict out of our |
| and spontaneity. TUS7M participant participant | | | | partnership sacrificed our own passions around |
| 3. Even Brief Presentations Have An Objective | | | | certain ideas. Accepting more creative tension, |
| Establish a clear intention for your presentation. | | | | rather than suppressing it completely, helped us |
| This objective is your rudder steering the design | | | | reach our final (successful) idea more quickly." |
| and delivery of your presentation and ensuring | | | | TUS7M participant |
| you stay on task. | | | | 7. Velocity Values Paring Down |
| Intentions can be concrete (How to Set-up a | | | | Edit! In a brief presentation communicating clearly, |
| Successful Lemonade Stand or Salsa Dance) or | | | | simply and swiftly is key. Demonstrate the power |
| experiential (The Power of a Minute) or both | | | | of just enough and not more. Use your hierarchy |
| (How to Get Rich Quick); the later demonstrated | | | | of information to deliberately choose the most |
| how to turn $2 into $20 in one minute yet also | | | | important points to convey. |
| addressed the value of integrity. | | | | Brief presentations force the presenter to |
| "This was an extremely effective lesson in what | | | | challenge the tendency to overly complicate a |
| turned out to be much more than delivering a | | | | message. Rather than packing way too much into |
| message in a finite amount of time. Understanding | | | | your presentation focus on showing rather than |
| and mastering the many components that go into | | | | telling and delivering less more effectively so it's |
| working with a team to create a valuable | | | | easy for your audience to engage with you. |
| experience for any audience takes a deep level of | | | | "For me, this highlighted why teaching and |
| creativity and confidence, two traits that are not | | | | communication in general requires a certain degree |
| easy things to learn by watching from the | | | | of mastery to make the subject simple again. |
| sidelines. This project forced us to jump right in | | | | |